PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY

Transcription

1 PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Speaker: Hon. Francis (Buck) Watts Hansard, Published by Order of the Legislature Third Session of the Sixty-fifth General Assembly Friday, 30 November 2018 MATTERS OF PRIVILEGE AND RECOGNITION OF GUESTS STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS VERNON RIVER-STRATFORD (Habitat for Humanity) TIGNISH-PALMER ROAD (Safe Drinking/Drinking and Driving) RUSTICO-EMERALD (Rollie Larkin Bub s Last) ORAL QUESTIONS LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION (Restoration of power to Islanders) LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION (Cost of producing backup power locally) LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION (Security of energy grid on PEI) SOURIS-ELMIRA (Air conditioner in Premier s office) SOURIS-ELMIRA (Tabling of invoices) SOURIS-ELMIRA (Seniors homes and AC) SOURIS-ELMIRA (Air conditioner in Premier s office (further) SOURIS-ELMIRA (Seniors homes and AC (further) SOURIS-ELMIRA (Premier claims of climate leader) RUSTICO-EMERALD (Solar power incentives) RUSTICO-EMERALD (Incentivizing local renewable energy) LEADER OF THE THIRD PARTY (Subsidizing of fuel costs) LEADER OF THE THIRD PARTY (Debating of two bills) TIGNISH-PALMER ROAD (Islanders paying for EpiPens) TIGNISH-PALMER ROAD (Commitment of assistance for EpiPens) TIGNISH-PALMER ROAD (EpiPens availability at public buildings) CHARLOTTETOWN-LEWIS POINT (Registrar position) CHARLOTTETOWN-LEWIS POINT (Status of midwives application) GEORGETOWN-ST. PETERS (Legal fees in e-gaming lawsuit) GEORGETOWN-ST. PETERS (Defendants having legal costs covered) GEORGETOWN-ST. PETERS (Province filing statement of claim) GEORGETOWN-ST. PETERS (Government endorsement of defence) GEORGETOWN-ST. PETERS (Minister support of findings of AG or legal defense)

2 STATEMENTS BY MINISTERS HEALTH AND WELLNESS (Mental Health Walk-In Clinic in Montague) TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENERGY (Non-Binary Gender Options on Driver s Licenses) TABLING OF DOCUMENTS INTRODUCTION OF GOVERNMENT BILLS BILL 63 Supplementary Appropriation Act (No. 2) ORDERS OF THE DAY (GOVERNMENT) COMMITTEE BILL 50 Justice of the Peace Act BILL 58 An Act to Amend the Gasoline Tax Act ADJOURNED

3 The Legislature sat at 10:00 a.m. Matters of Privilege and Recognition of Guests Speaker: The hon. Premier. Premier MacLauchlan: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Welcome, everyone, back to our Friday of week three, and those viewing online or via EastLink, especially those in York-Oyster Bed. It was a big day yesterday in the province and a lot of Islanders without power, and gradually or in some cases a little more than gradually getting the juice flowing again. There s been a tremendous effort by the Maritime Electric and associated teams, others coming in to help; communities that have opened up warming centres and lots of other ways Islanders have helped each other in response to this. I was out on the shore on the north side this morning, and I expect that once we get the lights on, we ll find that the biggest work to do will be to give our shorelines a chance to build up again, and that s not a one-or twoday thing, as you know well, Mr. Speaker. The minister of environment and I had an opportunity to go over this morning to Phinley s in Stratford where they had extended an invitation all the Maritime Electric and other workers for a free breakfast and we had a chance to talk with a few of the workers there; and Mr. Speaker, I timed the return trip. It was four minutes and 17 seconds. Some Hon. Members: [Laughter] Ms. Biggar: With two red lights. Premier MacLauchlan: Two red lights. Some folks and welcome to everyone in the gallery. I want to welcome in particular I see some folks are here from Habitat for Humanity. I likely don t recognize everyone, but I see Aaron Brown is here, upping the number of Browns in the House today; Brian Gillis, Ken DesRoches and everyone who is here on that purpose. I see Karen Lavers in the gallery, and Karen has a big party on this afternoon and had her last day of work with the city last Friday. Some Hon. Members: Hear, hear! Premier MacLauchlan: I say her last day of work for the city last Friday. I was at a reception on Tuesday that she seemed to be the main one making it happen. So Karen, you re going to be a (Indistinct) your efforts are going to be missed at the city, and welcome in district nine. It s great to see you here. I ve got a nomination tonight in the district 22 in Summerside, which will be called Summerside-South Drive, another strong candidate sitting right behind me. We re looking forward to that as a chance to get together. Finally, I mention that today is St. Andrew s Day. I wouldn t be surprised if we hear more about it from other members. Some have remembered to wear their tartans, and November 30 th always kind of sneaks up on us, but it s a reminder that Christmas is coming. Here s a modest bit of information: In addition to celebrating St. Andrew s, November 30 th also happens to be the birthday of Lucy Maud Montgomery and Winston Churchill, so it s a pretty big day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, and have a great weekend everyone. Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I d certainly like to rise today, as well, and thank the crews that are out there all across our great island working diligently to restore power to the many homes that are yet affected by the storm that we had over the last 36 hours. I d also like to recognize the Pownal Markan Woodmillers memorial hockey tournament that s taking place this weekend in Pownal, of course, consisted of 50 teams. Of course, the storm caused a lot of scrambling for the coaches, volunteers, players and families over the last little while, but they persevered and they re getting the 4364

4 games in. I d like to congratulate everyone and wish them a very great weekend as they move forward throughout the tournament. I d also like to recognize a good friend of mine, Ken DesRoches, who has joined us today. Ken, of course, was a candidate in the most recent Charlottetown municipal election as well. Great to see you here, Ken. I know the Premier talked a little bit about the community outreach and the warming centres as well, and it s great that many of the communities have come forward and opened up warming centres for those residents that may have been affected by the power outage; but I d also like to thank Islanders in general because I ve been hearing just some heartfelt stories over the last 24 hours with regards to how neighbours are reaching out to neighbours and Islanders do what they do best; they re looking out for one another. So I m always proud to call PEI my home, and that s the number one reason, because Islanders do look out for each other. Just in closing, I d also like to say that I look forward to attending a sold-out event this evening in district 23. It s a fundraising dinner for our nominated candidate up there, Hilton MacLennan. The hon. Member from Morell-Mermaid is the guest speaker. Mr. LaVie: (Indistinct) Ms. Biggar: (Indistinct) Leader of the Opposition: It s going to be a wonderful event, and I m sure that there s at least one Member who ll be probably driving by to see how many cars are there, because that individual did that when we had the nomination meeting. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Third Party. Dr. Bevan-Baker: Thank you so much, Mr. Speaker. I d like to welcome everybody to the gallery today, and I want to start out by thanking the Maritime Electric workers who have been you know, many of them worked through the night last night in what must have been, as always in a situation like this, pretty awful conditions. Although they didn t get to Hampton yet, I by the way, I would be wearing my tartan if it weren t for the fact that I didn t go home last night. One day without a shower is okay, manageable. Two is not so great. So I decided to stay in town last night. But, I will be donning my full regalia tonight because I will be giving the address to the haggis at the Caledonian dinner tonight at the Rodd Charlottetown event, so I ll be donning my regalia and my best Scottish accent and I will address the haggis. I m very much looking forward to that. I want to welcome Hannah Gehrels from PEERS Alliance; Brian Gillis and Aaron Brown from Habitat for Humanity; hi, Ken, Ken DesRoches; and Wayne MacKinnon, nice to see you; and Joe Byrne and Peter Meggs from the NDP. Peter Meggs, recently reelected councillor in Cornwall, so congratulations to you, Peter. I hope we have another lovely collaborative day here in the Legislature. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Member from West Royalty-Springvale. Mr. Dumville: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to welcome everybody here in the gallery today, and also to Joe Byrne and Peter Meggs, good to see you guys here; Ken, we ve had some association in the past and we will in the future; and Karen, congratulations on a great career; and my great friend Brian Gillis there and his colleague, welcome here, great work for Habitat for Humanity. What I d like to do is we all thank the crewmen for Maritime Electric. They re just absolutely fantastic. And you know, listened to Kim Griffin on the radio this morning, she s just a fantastic spokesman for that company. That company, you hear something well, they have a guaranteed rate of return and all that but when the chips are down, that company is so professional; it came through for us. It came through, spared no expense, and, we just have to remember like, they re bringing 4365

5 people in from Fortis in Ontario. They re bringing in private contractors from New Brunswick to make sure the residents of this province get looked after. So it s a first-class company. It s great to see a business like Phinley s recognizing that. Also, I had a visit to the hospital last night, and I d like to compliment all the people like Dr. John Sampson out there. There were three I got registered, I saw the first nurse, I saw the second nurse, had an x-ray, I saw the doctor. I was out of there within an hour; very professional, so let s not forget our people out there at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Must be a great minister of health, that s all I can say. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: Thank you, hon. Member. The hon. Minister of Education, Early Learning and Culture. Mr. J. Brown: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I, too, would like to welcome Brian Gillis, who s a constituent of mine and great advocate for Habitat for Humanity, and he applies his professional skills there very aptly. I d also like to welcome Karen Lavers and congratulate her as a city MLA. Karen is somebody who s done a lot for the city and a lot really for a lot of people within the city. She s tremendously respected in that regard and certainly we congratulate her on a great first career and welcome to the second career. Ken DesRoches It was mentioned that Ken put his name forward for municipal council. It s always great to have community-minded folks like Ken, and welcome to the gallery. Susan Myers I m not sure if we ll be getting questions on the Montague Consolidated School today or not, but Mr. Myers: You should. You will in the hallway. Mr. J. Brown: Probably will, yeah. She s also a great advocate for Montague Consolidated School and the community out there, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Speaker: The hon. Member from Charlottetown-Lewis Point. Ms. Casey: Good morning, Mr. Speaker. It s a pleasure for me to rise and welcome Joey Jeffrey to the Clerk s Table. I think this is a perfect picture to see our Clerk and the successor at the Table together. He s been trained by one of the very best and most respected clerks in the Commonwealth, Charles MacKay, and I wish Joey nothing but a great success at the Table. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Member from Belfast- Murray River. Ms. Compton: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It s a pleasure to rise today and welcome everyone here in the gallery, those who are watching from district four those who are able to watch from district four. There s still no power in South Pinette, or there wasn t when I left home. I want to thank the Maritime Electric crew, the H-Line workers; all of the crews that are helping restore power. Someone mentioned to me this morning that we don t realize how much we rely on it. I think yesterday in the House was a prime example of that. I am donning my tartan already. Today is St. Andrew s Day so Happy St. Andrew s Day to everyone. Tonight the Caledonia Club will be having their St. Andrew s Day dinner and I will get to respond to the toast to the lassies, so it s always a good tonguein-cheek reply, so I look forward to that. I look forward to the hon. members addressing the haggis. It s usually very theatric, so that should be great. I just hope everyone has a wonderful day. Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. 4366

6 Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico- Emerald. Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It s a pleasure to rise today and welcome everyone to the gallery and welcome everyone back to the House, whether you ve showered or not. Some Hon. Members: [Laughter] Mr. Trivers: I just want to say I m wearing my tartan today. My mother was a Grant, so this is the Grant tartan. Also, I wanted to send a shout out to all of those people who are working to get the power back on. Being a linesperson is a dangerous job and a very physical job, and they do fantastic work. I just got a text message this morning from an old friend of mine in Northern Ontario where I m from, up on the North Shore Lake Heron their whole family, Ronnie Lamette and his sons, Bill Lemette, Travis Ouimette and Bert Ouimette, are all linesmen and Travis Ouimette is actually coming to Prince Edward Island from Northern Ontario to help get the power back on here. I wanted to extend a welcome to him and thank all the people who are coming to PEI to help us out. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Member from Georgetown-St. Peters. Mr. Myers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It s great to get back here on another Friday in the fall session. I, too, want to welcome my sister, Susie, and my nieces, Allie and Charley, to the gallery here today. I hope they enjoy the proceedings, and I hope they both behave themselves over there, especially Susie. I don t know if they have any power out in Montague yet. I certainly hope they didn t come here hoping it was a warming centre because it s about five degrees in here today. I hope they enjoy today. I would also want to pass on my condolences to the family of Linda Gardener who passed away yesterday. Linda is from my district in Georgetown manned my campaign office in Georgetown for two elections every single day, a stalwart of the Tory party; has been a great help to me over the years. So, I m definitely saddened with the news of Linda s passing this morning and I wanted to pass my condolences on to her daughter, Theresa, and everybody who is saddened by this loss. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Member from Montague-Kilmuir. Mr. Roach: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It s a pleasure today to rise in the House. I want to welcome a constituent of mine, Susie Myers, her two beautiful children, Allie and Charley. I ve had the opportunity to work with Susie through a number of professional work in through ACOA in my district and also, I ve had the opportunity to work with her when we were having great discussions around the replacement of the Montague Consolidated School, and she s very professional and excellent to work with. On the other side of it, I ve also had the opportunity to socialize. I recall a midwinter bonfire with Christmas trees, a social after, and Susie certainly does have a wonderful family so it s great to see her here today with her children. Also, I d note and really pleased to see that we re getting some assistance from Ontario and New Brunswick with our power outage. Where I love, we don t expect to have power until sometime next week. But, I think we all really appreciate those people that are coming, and it s wonderful because I do recall our power company going to Ontario and there for weeks when they had their ice storms and they ve done that on several occasions. I ve also seen them up there during major snowstorms assisting those provinces as well. It s great to see them come back and return the favour, so all the best. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for the time. Speaker: The hon. Member from Borden- Kinkora. 4367

7 Mr. Fox: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to say thank you to the House; thank you to the Premier; thank you to the Minister of Justice and Public Safety; thank you to the Green Party, and every member last night that helped us pass bill 110 on the floor of this Legislature. I think that makes a significant statement for this province and across this country, so thank you to all members in the House. I d like to also take time to say thank you to I want to mention the line crews that work for Bell and Telus and EastLink. These guys are out there helping out with the power lines and getting phone cables back up and Internet service going in places across the Island. I have no Internet or telephone right now, and these guys, they re the guys putting the ladders up there Mr. LaVie: (Indistinct) on the good days. Mr. Fox: and climbing up poles with spurs on. My father worked for (Indistinct) and my grandfather did between the two of them they had over 80 years of service with Bell and these guys I remember dad I don t know how many times he fell out of telephone poles and broke ribs, working with spurs on their legs and ladders. I don t want to forget those guys. But, thank you to all the crews who are out there working to get the Island back up and running, and the crews that are coming in. It s a great things to see. Thank you. Speaker: The hon. Member from Charlottetown-Parkdale. Ms. Bell: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It s just to follow on from the greetings that we ve already heard. I d extend a greeting to Doug Millington who joins us, and a welcome to Karen Lavers and how important it is to see women entering politics after already giving so much to your community, to see you making that next step. It s really fantastic so I just wanted to give a shout out for that. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Statements by Members Speaker: The hon. Member from Vernon River-Stratford. Habitat for Humanity Mr. McIsaac: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. With all of the discussion lately about the need for affordable housing, today I m going to take a moment and recognize the Prince Edward Island Division of Habitat for Humanity. I m glad to have Aaron Brown and Brian Gillis in the House here today. I had the pleasure of serving on their board of directors for several years and also serving with Jim and Myrna Wicks, who spearheaded Habitat here on PEI. Founded in 1996, Habitat for Humanity PEI is a non-profit organization working towards an Island where everyone has an opportunity to live in a safe, decent and affordable home. Habitat PEI completed its first home in Since then, with the help of their generous volunteers, I know some of the members of this House have volunteered, the organization has provided 67 families with safe, decent and affordable housing throughout Prince Edward Island. Habitat for Humanity PEI s mission of providing affordable homeownership opportunities to Island families is stronger than ever, and our government has been proud to support them in reaching that goal. Habitat has committed to building 25 new homes in the next three years. This includes five homes at the Lennox Island First Nation, and 20 homes with a focus on families living with disabilities, Canadian Forces veterans, and refugees. I am encouraged by this government s action plan to address the current housing situation in the province. But, not one person or one level of government can venture on solving the pressures on their own. That is why I am proud to stand up today and thank Habitat for Humanity for their continued efforts on helping to achieve safe and modern housing for Islanders. 4368

8 I ask this House to join me in thanking Habitat for their dedication to Prince Edward Island. Thank you, Mister Speaker. [Applause] Speaker: The hon. Member from Tignish- Palmer Road. Safe Drinking/Drinking and Driving Mr. Perry: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Decorations, Christmas crackers, music, vegetarian option for your sister-in-law you thought of everything you need to make the perfect Christmas party or not. How about a designated driver? If you haven t yet thought about your guests and how they will be getting home, don t wait until the party to sort it out. That might be too late. Holidays, for the most part, have an increase in drinking because it s a time when people who normally don t go out drinking are called into a conference room or a punch bowl of heaven knows what mixture is waiting for them. Some of those people are not used to drinking or thinking about a designated driver. So, to those who are hosting and have an alcoholic or holiday party, it s your responsibility to see that everyone has a way of getting home safely and this could mean promoting and ensure that guests walk or take a taxi or public transit; having people stay over if they are too drunk; offering food and non-alcoholic drinks; staying sober enough, to keep an eye on your guests; preventing an impaired guest from getting into a driver s seat; or a designated driver, someone who will not be drinking at all during the evening. This also applies to those who find themselves dipping into that punch bowl a little bit too often. There are alternatives to drinking and driving, and it s your responsibility to make our island roads safe. If you drink, do not drive. Call a taxi, call a friend, or call your parents. Plan ahead. Or be a designated driver. I have offered this service to my district for the past seven years and will be providing it again this year. This service gives me an opportunity to give back to my community and to help people get around in rural areas where a taxi service is not available. As well, it helps people because they don t have to worry about getting from one place to another. I will continue this as long as I possibly can. I keep saying: It s driving home that message of planning ahead. If I can do my part in making the roads of PEI a little bit safer for everyone, then I take great, great pride in that. Thank you. [Applause] Mr. Perry: Thank you. Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico- Emerald. Rollie Larkin Bub s Last Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Roland Larkin of New Glasgow was a very successful Island entrepreneur, a community builder and long-time horseman. Rollie was a fixture at Island tracks and actively involved as a trainer at the time of his passing over four years ago. His amazing wife, Yvonne Larkin, still lives in New Glasgow. Three days ago Rollie s granddaughter, Anna Simpson, also an avid horse lover, received a message containing heartbreaking news. Her late grandfather s horse, Bub s Last, which was sold to the Amish in Pennsylvania days after her grandfather passed, had only a few days left before being sent to the slaughterhouse. Anna s love for horses started at an early age and she grew up alongside Bub s Last. One might say that Bub s Last represents a living link to the passion for horses that she shared with her grandfather. 4369

9 Upon receiving the message, Anna, along with her best friend Bridgette, jumped into action. They set up a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising enough money to pay bail for Bub s Last, bring him home, and give him the medical treatment he required. Together they found a woman who would welcome Bub s Last back to their home on PEI and even found someone to truck the horse back from Virginia. However, they still needed to reach their goal of $2,000. I m glad to say within two days, thanks to the generosity of donors, they exceeded the required amount and raised $2,280. Bub s Last is coming home. The horse community is a close one, and I was moved by the love that Anna asked her friend had to save a horse to honour her late grandfather and her family. Soon, Bub s Last will be back home living a happy retirement and bringing joy once again to PEI. I want to congratulate Anna and Bridgette and say happy trails to Bub s Last and rest in peace to Rollie Larkin. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Responses to Questions Taken As Notice Questions by Members Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, up to 58,000 customers of Maritime Electric and Summerside Electric woke up to no power due to the most recent winter storm. In fact, thousands are still without power this morning, despite the valiant efforts of power crews who worked throughout the night. Restoration of power to Islanders Question to the Premier: Premier, what is the latest update that you can share on when utilities may have power fully restored to Islanders? Speaker: The hon. Premier. Premier MacLauchlan: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. We heard the public communications from Maritime Electric and the number of subscribers or the number of customers without power dropped quite dramatically between 6:00 a.m. this morning and 9:00 a.m. We re aware that Maritime Electric is bringing in supplemental crews from Ontario and New Brunswick. There will be a further dedicated effort. We met some of the workers this morning. I m told that it could be in some rare cases, on into the weekend or even early next week for certain customers, but in the main the power is on, or coming on. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Power disruptions in southeastern New Brunswick forced the province to depend on locally generated power through backup generator capacity. Cost of producing backup power locally Question to the Premier: Do you have any initial estimates on how it much may have cost our utilities to produce this backup power locally? Speaker: The hon. Premier. Premier MacLauchlan: The first question wasn t the out of pocket cost, but the fact that Maritime Electric does indeed have a system, a policy to respond contingency plans in a situation like this. Yesterday, we had the double challenge. One, that the lines at Memramcook, New Brunswick, which is the main area, the main point in the system for transmitting power through to Prince Edward Island, fortunately we ve got those extra cables. But the second piece was that yesterday, because of the high winds, we were not able to use our own windmills to generate on-island power. 4370

10 Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Opposition. Leader of the Opposition: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, events like these cause many of us to step back and reevaluate things. So I d like to ask a bigger picture question. Security of energy grid on PEI Question to the Premier: How secure is our energy grid here on PEI? Speaker: The hon. Premier. Premier MacLauchlan: Mr. Speaker, let me start by saying that because of the good choices that Prince Edward Islanders are making to switch to electricity and away from other sources of energy a commitment to a cleaner and a greener Prince Edward Island and to deal with climate change, we have since 2015 seen an increase in the peak demand, or the demand that you have to provide for, at the peak of approximately 15% in terms of electricity demand. Indeed, that does lead to questions of how an on Island sense and then in a regional sense we can make provision for an increasingly electrified future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Member from Souris- Elmira. Mr. LaVie: Mr. Speaker, last summer was one of the hottest summers we had on PEI with record and major heat waves with high humidity. Air conditioner in Premier s office Question to the Premier: You installed an air conditioner in your office last summer; can you explain to me how much that air conditioner cost? Mr. Myers: Good question. Speaker: The hon. Premier. Premier MacLauchlan: An air conditioner was offered, and I declined. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Member from Souris- Elmira. Mr. LaVie: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ms. Biggar: Get your facts straight. Mr. LaVie: At one point, the humidex was above 30 degrees. Would you be surprised at this air conditioner installed in your office was $73,000. Mr. Myers: No. Really? Speaker: The hon. Premier. Premier MacLauchlan: I m not sure what the hon. member is referring to. There was some extensive work done on the roof of the Shaw Building to deal with the system for the entire building. I certainly heard the work being done, and there was some disruption during that time. I was not aware maybe the minister of public works could tell us more about that. It wouldn t in a normal course be something that would come across the Premier s desk, but I repeat what I said in response to the previous question. I want to be clear about this. There was an air conditioning unit offered for my office, and I declined because I think Prince Edward Islanders should when they can find ways to get some fresh air and not be putting up our energy consumption of getting too accustomed to cooling in the summertime. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Member from Souris- Elmira. Mr. LaVie: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. According to the project invoices, freedom of information, it cost more than $73,000 to install an air conditioner at your office. Tabling of invoices 4371

11 Question to the Premier: Will you table all those documents? Mr. Myers: Good question. Pretty bad if you have to be saved by her. Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy. Ms. Biggar: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As the Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy are responsible for the public buildings right across government, part of that project was to refurbish the air system in that particular complex. Mr. Fox: (Indistinct) Ms. Biggar: I ll go back and get the information, and be happy to table it here. Speaker: The hon. Member from Souris- Elmira. Mr. LaVie: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This summer, there was a problem at the Wedgewood Manor with air conditioning. Half the manor had no AC. The elderly patients were living in intensive heat, and this Premier installs a $73,000 air conditioning at his office. Seniors homes and AC Why was there a budget for an AC, but none for the seniors that I ve named? Mr. Fox: That s right. Mr. Myers: Good question. Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness. Mr. Mitchell: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The hon. member is correct. This past summer we ve reached record highs on many of the days over the summer months. This did cause some problems in some of our community care facilities, our long-term care facilities, and even in our hospitals in some cases. Obviously these temperatures are not normal Mr. Fox: Do you live here, minister? Mr. Mitchell: and they weren t all prepared for it earlier. But in the case of Wedgewood Manor, we worked closely with the staff; we worked closely with transportation, infrastructure renewal and were able to come up with some used air conditioners that we were able to rush right out and get them installed to make it comfortable for, not only for the residents, but for the staff, because we want staff to be in comfortable areas working too. We reached out there was no air conditioners new air conditioners to be had anywhere in the Maritimes, and the minister of transportation found some used ones that we were able to put forward and to keep the area cool for those residents. Some Hon. Members: Good job. Nice. Speaker: The hon. Member from Souris- Elmira. Mr. LaVie: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. These air conditioner were installed in evenings and weekends at an overtime rate of $112 an hour. Air conditioner in Premier s office (further) Why were you in such a rush to have air conditioning put in your office, Premier? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy. Ms. Biggar: Mr. Speaker, as I noted to the members over there, they don t seem to know what the procurement process is within government. I shudder to think what would ever happen if they ever, ever have the opportunity to get into government because they don t know anything about procurement. Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) 4372

12 Ms. Biggar: Any work that s done, we tender out the work. We have work that we have to do to keep our complexes up. I can tell you, I ve been in the Premier s office and he does not have an air conditioner. An Hon. Member: (Indistinct). Mr. Myers: We ll answer in French, yes we will. Mr. Roach: All the civil servants (Indistinct) Speaker: Okay, members. It s fairly cool out, let s just keep it cool. Some Hon. Members: [Laughter] Speaker: The hon. Member from Souris- Elmira. Mr. LaVie: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, I do know that people have no work, no money for Christmas. I do know our food banks are up right across PEI. I do know that seniors had no power last night. Don t worry about us on this side, worry about the people outside. To the Premier: Do you think it s fair to seniors in manors to have them sweat out the heat all summer while you installed an air conditioner at your office? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness. Mr. Mitchell: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. As a result of record-high temperatures last summer we are looking at determining to be preemptive this summer and to ensure that residence will have areas that are well cooled, and the new manors, they use a different method there that takes the moisture out of the air. Often our seniors, they like the heat anyway but it s the staff that this will take the moisture out. We ll look at other measures on those types of things moving forward to ensure that our residents cares are being well met. It was very fortunate last summer that the Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy was able to come up with some refurbished units that we were able to install quickly; ran them up in the morning and they were working by lunchtime to ease those pressures in that facility. Speaker: The hon. Member from Souris- Elmira. Mr. LaVie: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well here s a government that s thinking about themselves not about the people of PEI, like they always talk about, people of PEI. You install an air conditioner in your own office, that s thinking about yourself. They talk about a budget surplus, what do they do? Install an air conditioner Mr. Myers: Premier s office. Mr. LaVie: They don t fix the leaky roofs in senior s homes; they don t install a furnace where they ll have heat. Mr. Myers: Grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. Mr. LaVie: I hear these stories daily. Seniors homes and AC (further) Question to the Premier: Doesn t jumping the line for AC over seniors in our manors reek of entitlement? Mr. Myers: Good question. Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy. Ms. Biggar: Mr. Speaker, again, as I noted it s my responsibility as the Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy to oversee the whole complex, the government buildings and I didn t see the Leader of the Opposition or opposition members refuse air conditioning in their offices on second floor here. Some Hon. Members: Oh! Mr. Myers: (Indistinct) $73,000 (Indistinct) 4373

13 Ms. Biggar: It s my responsibility to ensure if there are repairs that need to be done to government buildings that we ensure that it is done. As a government, we are making sure that seniors are looked after; we just built a brand new $8 million manor in Tyne Valley which has a state of the art facility and we ll continue to make sure that seniors are looked after. Speaker: The hon. Member from Souris- Elmira. Mr. LaVie: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I ll let the Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy know I never spent one day this summer in my office in Charlottetown [Laughter] Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) Mr. LaVie: I spend my time in district one Ms. Biggar: Wow. Mr. LaVie: with my people. That s where I spend my time. Mr. Myers: That s it right there, you should try it sometime. You should try it sometime; go out from Charlottetown some night. Mr. LaVie: Mr. Speaker, $73,000 would have bought a lot of heat pumps for affordable housing. Premier claims of climate leader Question to the Premier: $73,000 would have bought a lot of heat pumps for affordable housing. Is this what you mean when you call yourself a climate leader? Mr. Myers: Good question. Good question. Climate leader indeed. Premier MacLauchlan: Mr. Speaker, we introduced through Efficiency PEI last spring a program of rebates to encourage and support Prince Edward Islanders in the acquisition of heat pumps. At last count, there were upwards of 4,200, it s likely higher now. Islanders who stepped forward, who ve been very busy and contractors have been busy and the people have been getting the rebates, they ve been using less oil and they ve been enjoying the comfort of heat pumps. I was, I guess, surprised to hear that the member didn t come to town last summer but it s also my understanding that there s air conditioning at the access facilities in Souris. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Ms. Biggar: That s where your office is. Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico- Emerald. Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Prince Edward Island has made great strides in renewable energy over the last 20 years, most notably in wind energy. However, progress on the area of solar power has lagged behind. Solar power incentives Question to the Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy: What incentives currently exist to encourage the adoption of solar energy on Prince Edward Island? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy. Ms. Biggar: As I ve mentioned here several times since the House opened, the incentives that we are offering to Islanders is helping them switch away Mr. Trivers: Solar energy. Mr. R. Brown: from oil, towards heat pumps. We are offering incentives for people to insulate their homes, to convert from different sources of electricity and use wood, use propane. We are continuing to work on initiatives that we can expand as we go forward. We re working with businesses so they can convert to other sources of energy and we 4374

14 are continuing to work on different initiatives that will provide Islanders options. Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico- Emerald. Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. It was a simple question. It was about incentives for solar. I didn t hear anything about solar in that response. A new study from the national energy board suggests that solar energy is an underdeveloped opportunity for Prince Edward Island to lower energy costs and carbon emissions. Prince Edward Island has some of the highest electricity costs in the country and as they say in the report An Hon. Member: (Indistinct) pipeline. Mr. Trivers: I quote: the reason that Prince Edward Island is right for solar development is that it depends more on local electricity prices, rather than the amount of sunlight received. Question to the energy minister: Are there any tax incentives or rebates in place for Island home owners and businesses who have developed or want to use solar to develop net-zero buildings? Mr. Myers: Good question. Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy. Ms. Biggar: Mr. Speaker, we do have lots of incentives and one of them, in particular, is benefitting Islanders by $10 million dollars by giving a rebate on the tax towards their electricity. They get that on their bill Mr. R. Brown: Good point, good point. Ms. Biggar: month. We re continuing to invest in efficiency programs, in heat pumps and conversion to other sources of energy. We are working with Islanders, we re working with low-income families, and we will continue to work with them to save them money every day in their pockets. Mr. Roach: (Indistinct) Mr. R. Brown: Got them on the ropes, you got them on the ropes; you got them on the ropes. Mr. MacEwen: Keep flipping. Mr. LaVie: Yeah but you never said what you re taking out of the other pocket though. Mr. Myers: Next page, it s in the next page I m sure it is. Ms. Compton: Keep flipping, it s there. Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico- Emerald. Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Taking the provincial portion of the PST off of electricity is a great initiative; it was something we campaigned on in the last election. Thank you for doing that, implementing our policy. Mr. Myers: Thanks for listening. Mr. Trivers: But, those Islanders who ve taken the initiative to install PV solar panels, still pay tax on the energy that they produce and they use. An Hon. Member: No. Some Hon. Members: Yes. Mr. Trivers: The report I m talking about, called The Economics of Solar Power in Canada said this about our province: Currently, residential solar break evens are less than residential electricity prices in most places in Prince Edward Island. Question to the minister responsible for energy: Why aren t we doing more to encourage Islanders to take advantage of this opportunity? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy. Ms. Biggar: Mr. Speaker, I applaud those that are doing a lot in solar conversion, they 4375

15 are using the grid, and they still use the grid when they need it but it s great that they can go to net zero when they don t need that extra opportunity. There s a cost to maintaining that grid so that when they need it, they can switch to it but we are continuing to work with Islanders to convert to heat pumps, to convert to different sources of energy, to put money back in their pockets and to give them incentives to green their energy consumption. Speaker: The hon. Member from Rustico- Emerald. Mr. R. Brown: (Indistinct) Mr. Trivers: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The National Energy Board s report came to a similar conclusion about commercial and community solar break even points right here on Prince Edward Island. They said and I quote: This means that businesses in most places here on Prince Edward Island they could expect to save money by installing solar. Incentivizing local renewable energy Question to the energy minister: why is government ignoring a chance for Island homeowners, businesses, and communities to save money by incentivizing more local, renewable energy? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy and Status of Women. Ms. Biggar: Mr. Speaker. As a government we are partnering with communities who are developing solar systems. Down in Montague, there s a new system being put in place. I applaud that and Mr. R. Brown: (Indistinct) Ms. Biggar: the initiative their doing. I applaud the City of Summerside, their heating at Credit Union Place Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) Ms. Biggar: with their solar system. Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) Ms. Biggar: I also want to applaud the community of Tignish for their initiative Mr. R. Brown: (Indistinct) Ms. Biggar: on a district heating system using biomass. Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) Mr. Trivers: Solar. We re talking about solar. Ms. Biggar: These are all initiatives An Hon. Member: Solar. Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) Ms. Biggar: that are renewable. You re talking about renewable I m talking about renewable. Mr. Myers: Solar. Some Hon. Members: Solar, Solar! Ms. Biggar: And biomass is a renewable heating product. Thank you. Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) Mr. Myers: Solar. Solar. Mr. R. Brown: Chips are solar. Leader of the Opposition: Might want to get some air conditioning on that side of the room; you re getting a little hot. Mr. Myers: So, is the boot polish (Indistinct) put in your hair (Indistinct). Speaker: Okay, hon. members. I think we re going to have a question from the hon. Leader of the Third Party. Dr. Bevan-Baker: Thank you. So tempted to carry on that line of questioning, but I won t. 4376

16 Some Hon. Members: (Indistinct) Dr. Bevan-Baker: I was struck yesterday during debate on the gas tax amendments, how reluctant the Minister of Finance and the Premier were to tell this House that three quarters of the funds raised from the carbon tax are not going back into Islanders pockets directly, as our plan would have done. But, they re going to be used to subsidize our continued use of fossil fuels. I couldn t understand how a plan which should have been celebrated so much by this Premier, and the Minister of Finance, and everybody else on that side of the House, could make you feel so uncomfortable last night that you couldn t even talk about it openly. Subsidizing of fuel costs A question to the Premier: You have promoted the Gas Tax Act as a way to offset the costs of federally imposed carbon taxes, so why are you not enthusiastically telling Islanders how you are subsidizing their fuel costs? Mr. Roach: We re not taking is out of their pockets in the first place. Dr. Bevan-Baker: Yes, you are. Speaker: Hon. Premier. Premier MacLauchlan: Mr. Speaker. There s obviously a wide gap between the Third Party and our government when it comes to this very question. Leaving three cents in Islanders pockets we do not consider that to be a subsidy, neither do we consider it to be a subsidy encouraging bad behaviour, which is exactly what the Green Party thinks. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Third Party, your first supplementary question. Dr. Bevan-Baker: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. All the line of questioning from the opposition today was regarding climate change, whether it was air conditioning in buildings, whether it was the stability of our grid, or whether it was the lack of incentives for solar powers for solar power here on Prince Edward Island. We need to act on this, and we have two separate bills before this House to accomplish, apparently, government s plan to combat climate change: one to raise the cost of fossil fuels, and the other to reduce it back down again. Debating of two bills A question to the Premier: why are we debating two bills that are so clearly at cross purposes to each other? Speaker: Hon. Premier. Premier MacLauchlan: Mr. Speaker, yesterday evening, I used the analogy and we had the lights on in here, fortunately, but I don t think the Leader of the Third Party had his hearing aid turned up. So I ll say it again Some Hon. Members: Oh. Premier MacLauchlan: I used the analogy of the high jump. In order execute a successful high jump, you have to have a decent run at it it s something I ve tried in my time so what we re doing is lowering the upsize tax on gasoline that s currently very high for Islanders. Ms. Biggar: (Indistinct) Premier MacLauchlan: Islanders currently pay 18% of their transportation costs, which is the highest among any other provinces in the country so we re creating some space in order then to bring in the carbon levy and we ll have a chance to consider it now that the Leader of the Third Party has agreed that it s time to go to second reading. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: The hon. Leader of the Third Party, your second supplementary. Dr. Bevan-Baker: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Bill No. 62, the deliciously ironically titled Climate Leadership Act, clearly states in the principle of that bill that by raising the cost of fossil fuels, the expectation is that carbon 4377

17 emissions will be reduced it says that in the purpose of the bill. A question to the Premier: Do you agree with the bill s principle, that carbon pricing and using market forces actually does reduce carbon emissions? And if so, why are you intentionally sabotaging your own plan? Speaker: Hon. Premier. Mr. Roach: (Indistinct) Premier MacLauchlan: Mr. Speaker, I believe all members of this House, and I believe a lot of Prince Edward Islanders are aware, that in fact there will be a carbon levy. It will be an increment of one cent in 2019, and a further increment of one cent in We believe that price is a factor and we say so, and we said it in the submission that was tabled here last night. I encourage the Leader of the Third Party to take a good look at it. We also believe that Islanders will make the right choices, they will respond when the technologies are appropriate, they will drive electric cars when electric cars are available. They have done this for decades, and that s why we were able to put forward such a convincing case a case that was accepted that we have a carbon reduction plan; a plan to reduce greenhouse grass emissions that will meet our targets and that Islanders are supporting. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Speaker: Question from the hon. Member from Tignish-Palmer Road. Mr. Perry: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. In the past, I have advocated to the Minister of Health and Wellness for coverage of ostomy supplies, which he has delivered and I thank him very much for that. I ve also asked for support for Islanders seeking in vitro fertilization, and I look forward to delivering on that pretty soon. Today, I have another important issue affecting the health of Islanders, and I m hopeful the minister will deliver on. Islanders paying for EpiPens Will the Minister of Health and Wellness inform the House why Islanders must pay out of pocket for EpiPens when they are life saving devices? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness. Mr. Mitchell: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The work we do every day at the Department of Health and Wellness is about saving lives and about keeping Islanders well. When it comes to coverage of EpiPens, as the hon. member asked, currently EpiPens are provided under several of our provincial programs. Our Financial Assistance Drug Program offers EpiPens to Islanders at no cost. As well, our Family Health Benefit Program, which is for low income families I might add it is a minimal fee, it just covers the dispensing fee, which at today s rate is at $12.36, I believe. Our children in care program, it also covers those EpiPens at no cost, and as last, our Catastrophic Drug Program if a family does fit into that program, those are no cost to them there as well. Speaker: Hon. Member from Tignish- Palmer Road, your first supplementary. Mr. Perry: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. EpiPens are literally a life saving device. It s a parent s worst nightmare to have a sick child and not be able to help them. Commitment of assistance for EpiPens Something as simple as access to an EpiPen can make all the difference in the world. Will the minister of health commit to this House to developing a financial assistance plan for families with children who require EpiPens, by making them available for free? Speaker: The hon. Minister of Health and Wellness. Mr. LaVie: (Indistinct) first responders. Mr. Mitchell: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Obviously, if we could make all medications or all health devices on Prince Edward 4378